Chapter 106: Overnight, Xiangjun’s Hair Turned Gray
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Whoosh, whoosh…
The ferry quietly sailed out of the port in the thunderstorm and headed upstream along the Clear River.
The lights on the ship were flickering. More than thirty helm masters and hall masters were patrolling back and forth in the night rain, paying attention to any movements on the river.
Inside the deckhouse, the door of the tea room was tightly shut.
The dim yellow candlelight illuminated the corners of the tea room. Four people were sitting here in silence.
Coo?!” The bird was squatting obediently on the tea table and looking at the fruit plate beside it. Because the atmosphere was wrong, it stuck its head out a few times but didn’t dare to eat.
After Ye Jingtang changed into a clean robe, he sat down on the right side of the tea table. His expression was cold, and his eyes were calm as he thought about the current situation.
‘White Buddha’ Song Chi’s arms, shoulders, and back were wrapped in bandages. He was sitting upright on a chair, his eyes bright and unmoving.
Chen Yuanqing, the third-in-command, was pacing silently in the tea room with his hands behind his back. Occasionally, he would sigh. “Sigh…”
As the sect master, Pei Xiangjun was sitting upright in the main seat. Perhaps it was the first time in her life that she had such a serious expression. She coldly stared at the two talents sitting on the left and right of the tea table.
Alright, the young master stole the beloved wife of the Pacifying 1 leaven Cult Master…
The second-in-command took the young master out to lull the brother of the current Sword Saint in the middle of the night…
The eldest brother is like a father. The people with the hatred of killing a father and the hatred of snatching a wife are still alive!
I, Third Lady Pei, have such a right-hand man to assist me. Why should 1 worry about not being able to hide my identity? 1 should just escape to Northern Liang.
The more Pei Xiangjun thought about it, the angrier she became. She looked at the unsmiling Song Chi. “Hall Master Song, explain what happened today!”
Song Chi knew that he had caused trouble and couldn’t show off the temperament as an elder anymore. He said softly, “I saw that Jian Yuhua was quite talented and wanted to take in a disciple, so I went over with the young master to take a look. Who knew that Zhou Huaili would also come…”
“And then you took it upon yourself to kill him?”
“I didn’t make the decision on my own. 1 discussed it with the young master with our eyes…”
?
Pei Xiangjun took a deep breath. “You are an elder! Jingtang is young and energetic. Why should you discuss it with him? If you take even a little bit longer, he will think that you’re signaling to end things quickly!”
Ye Jingtang sat upright and said softly, “It’s true that 1 had murderous intentions today. Uncle Song and I…”
Song Chi raised his hand slightly. “We both had the intention to kill. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have attacked together without saying anything.”
“You two… Sigh…” Pei Xiangjun was speechless. She held her forehead with her hands and closed her eyes.
Chen Yuanqing was also speechless. He guessed that this was how the two of them had discussed:
“How about we kill him?”
“Go, go, go, go!”
As for the consequences, they would just kill him first. If they missed the opportunity, it would be gone.
Chen Yuanqing thought for a moment before deciding to smooth things over. “You’ve already killed him. There’s no point in saying all this. We should be thinking about how to clean up the mess now. If this matter leaks, the Red Flower Pavilion and the Zhou family will definitely go to war. With Zhou Chiyang around, the Zhou family will be in an invincible position…”
Ye Jingtang said calmly, “I burned the corpse so people wouldn’t be able to see the marks of the punches and kicks clearly. They will only see saber marks. I also left the Prince of Jing’s token. If nothing goes wrong, the Zhou family should associate it with the Imperial Court and go to the capital to investigate the identity of the saberman. They won’t suspect the Red Flower Pavilion.”
Song Chi nodded. “Our Red Flower Pavilion doesn’t have a Grandmaster who’s good at the saber. Furthermore, we only had a conflict in the afternoon, and then we went out to take revenge like boors on the streets at night. It doesn’t seem like the behavior of a prestigious Jianghu force…”
“You still know this?!
“Yes… This is called taking the enemy by surprise. They won’t think that the dignified Red Flower Pavilion is so rough, so we did the opposite…”
Bah!
Pei Xiangjun really had no strength to complain anymore. She turned to look at Ye Jingtang. “The Zhou family and Jun Mountain Terrace are in the same boat. Jun Mountain Terrace has a close relationship with the Imperial Court, so they will definitely investigate the Prince of Jing’s subordinates to see if there’s a saberman who knows how to use the Eight-Steps Frenzied Blade. You showed your saber in the capital…”
Ye Jingtang thought for a moment and said, “I will send a letter to the Prince of Jing. I will say that I was out doing something and got to know the Red Flower Pavilion. For the sake of learning the Overlord Spear, I went to the Zhou family to support the Red Flower Pavilion, and then…”
“Even if the Prince of Jing approves of your actions and protects you, she can only guard you against open attacks. If they attack in secret…”
Song Chi pondered for a moment. “Jingtang is handsome, and the Prince of Jing is a woman. If the Zhou family knows that Jingtang is the Prince of Jing’s lover, Zhou Chiyang probably won’t dare to assassinate him at the risk of having his entire family executed. Even if he wants to take revenge, there’s a high chance that he will come openly and beat Jingtang half to death. He won’t go too far.”
The tea room fell silent.
Pei Xiangjun’s almond-shaped eyes widened. She wanted to say that Song Chi had come up with a poori dea, but after some thought, she found that this really seemed to be the safest method. Ye Jingtang would be the brother-in-law of the empress of Great Wei. Everyone would know the consequences of killing him. Not to mention the Zhou family, even if the Pacifying Heaven Cult took action, they would have to consider if they could withstand the iron hooves of Great Wei galloping across the Heavenly South.
Pei Xiangjun fell silent for a moment before looking at Ye Jingtang. “Jingtang, what do you think?”
Ye Jingtang thought for a moment. “This method is a bit ridiculous. How can I deliberately get close to the Prince of Jing and deceive a woman’s feelings in order to avoid trouble? Well, I’ll write a letter to the Prince of Jing first. If it really doesn’t work, i’ll leave the capital and go to the Heavenly South to hide. This matter won’t implicate the Red Flower Pavilion.”
Pei Xiangjun understood what he meant. If he couldn’t hug the princess’s thigh, he would hug the cult mistress’s thigh. In any case, whether it was the Prince of Jing or the Pacifying Heaven Cult, Zhou Chiyang couldn’t afford to offend either of them.
What was this? Multiple relationships leading to multiple paths?
It turned out that her fair thigh was the thinnest, and it broke the moment she
came up…
Pei Xiangjun had so many thoughts in her head that she didn’t know what she was thinking. After pondering for a long time, she raised her hand slightly. “Uncle Song, Uncle Chen, please rest first. I’ll talk to Jingtang alone.”
Song Chi stood up, cupped his hands, and left the tea room with Chen Yuanqing.
“You get out too.”
“Chirp.” The bird stood up and ran out.
The tea room fell silent. The dim yellow candlelight illuminated the side profiles of the man and woman.
Pei Xiangjun, who was wearing a light yellow ruqun, leaned against the small table. She held her forehead with her hand, her expression no longer as gentle and graceful as before. Instead, she frowned slightly, looking worried about her unfilial nephew.
After the footsteps completely disappeared, Ye Jingtang got up and sat opposite Third Lady. He raised his hand and poured tea. “Third Lady?”
Third Lady narrowed her eyes. Her clothes rose and fell slightly, but there was no other reaction.
Ye Jingtang comforted her gently. “Third Lady, don’t worry. 1 killed him, and I wanted to kill him. 1 definitely won’t let the disciples of the Red Flower Pavilion withstand revenge for me.”
Pei Xiangjun took a deep breath and looked up. “Since you’ve helped the Red Flower Pavilion handle matters, our Red Flower Pavilion will advance and retreat with you. If Zhou Chiyang dares to come and kill you, the two hall masters and I will definitely die before you. Are you treating me as an outsider by saying that?”
Ye Jingtang waved his hand. “How is that possible? I just said it so you wouldn’t worry…”
“Wouldn’t worry? You even dare to touch the woman of the Pacifying Heaven Cult Master, yet you’re telling me not to worry? How good was your performance in the past? Why did you become confused when it came to a woman? Is Xue Baijin’s woman someone you can touch?”
Pei Xiangjun held the small table with one hand. Her beautiful face was very angry, and there were faint tears in her eyes, as if she was looking at a heartless man who was fooling around.
Ye Jingtang explained softly, “Ning’er and I…”
“Call her cult mistress. Ning’er is for Xue Baijin to call her!”
“The cult mistress and I have already made things clear. The Pacifying Heaven Cult Master will definitely not vent his anger on the Red Flower Pavilion because of us…”
Pei Xiangjun didn’t believe him at all. She thought for a moment and asked, “Jingtang, have you been tricked? In order to make you rebel, the Pacifying Heaven Cult deliberately sent the number one beauty to seduce you?”
“How could I be seduced by beauty? 1 didn’t know her identity before. When I interacted with her, she resisted violently. It was me who took the initiative…”
Resisted violently?
You took the initiative?
So, you used force to harm a married woman?!
Pei Xiangjun was so angry that she was confused. Her clothes puffed up. “You even dare to lay your hands on an unknown beautiful woman? Haven’t you heard what the ‘three things not to provoke’ in Jianghu are? How can a woman who’s as beautiful as a flower and dares to walk alone in Jianghu be a good person? If you want to touch her, you have to wait until you have the strength to fight the Pacifying Heaven Sect Master. If you mess around now, I won’t be able to protect you even if I sell the Red Flower Pavilion…”
Ye Jingtang knew that Third Lady was concerned and comforted her. “It’s not that serious. I guarantee that the Pacifying Heaven Cult Master won’t hold it against me. But the reason is a secret. 1 can’t tell you. If 1 do, something will really happen…”
Thump!
Pei Xiangjun patted the small table lightly, her eyes filled with resentment, as if she was looking at a heartless person she no longer recognized. “Jingtang, we met on the first day you entered the capital. I told you everything. I trusted you enough to take off my clothes in front of you and let you treat my injury. But in the end? Just because the Moon Goddess is beautiful, you’re treating me as an outsider and keeping her secret…”
Ye Jingtang felt his scalp tingle under her resentful gaze. “I have to be trustworthy. I can’t go back on my word when I’ve promised not to say something. It’s the same when I promise you. 1 know that it’s difficult for me to guarantee these things since we’re not related, but I will always keep my word. Third Lady, just watch what I do in the future. Time will tell.”
Pei Xiangjun’s emotions were in a mess. After a moment of silence, she finally sighed. “Sigh… I know you’re loyal and value relationships. I didn’t say that I don’t believe you, but your aunt is worried and keeps saying nonsense. Since I’m the head of the family, 1 have to reassure your aunt…”
Ye Jingtang looked at the Third Lady, who wanted to say something but hesitated, and asked, “What did Aunt say?”
Pei Xiangjun hesitated for a moment with a strange expression. “Your aunt wants you to… um… consider your marriage with someone from the Azure Dragon Hall and become a family with us. Do you have anyone in mind?”
Ye Jingtang wasn’t stupid. He could guess what Third Lady was worried about and what she wanted to say. He thought for a moment and smiled. “I feel that a marriage forced by circumstances isn’t good. Third Lady, you don’t like to make do casually, right? Well… I think the most important thing in a marriage is to be happy with each other. Anyway, I won’t abandon you. As for whether I can find someone I love in the Azure Dragon Hall, it depends on fate. What do you think, Third Lady?”
I think the same…
But even the cult mistress of the Pacifying Heaven Cult personally came to poach you…
Pei Xiangjun wanted to say something, but in the end, she decided against it and raised her hand slightly. “Forget it. I’ll go back and discuss it with your aunt. Go write a letter and see how the Prince of Jing responds. If she can’t protect you and you have to go to the Pacifying Heaven Cult… we’ll talk about it then.”
Ye Jingtang nodded slightly, stood up, and left the tea room.
Squeak!
The door opened and closed.
Pei Xiangjun remained sitting at the tea table. The frustration in her heart gradually subsided, but the worry on her face increased.. “Sigh…”
